


The More Things Change

by AyuOhseki



Category: Tales of Symphonia
Genre: Bickering, F/F, Fluff and Humor, M/M, Male-Female Friendship, Post-Canon, Tales of Secret Santa 2017
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-25
Updated: 2017-12-25
Packaged: 2019-02-20 10:39:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,847
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13144914
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AyuOhseki/pseuds/AyuOhseki
Summary: A one-shot written for Tales of Secret Santa 2017. While questing together after the end of their original journey, Lloyd and Zelos find themselves lost and can't agree whose fault it is. Good thing Colette and Sheena are in the area, but how much help will they actually be?





	The More Things Change

“We're lost, bud.”

And that was the last straw. It was bad enough to Lloyd that he and Zelos had passed through Luin without getting more supplies because the first thing they'd heard when they arrived was a rumor that the defunct Asgard Ranch still had a cache of exspheres somewhere within. It was bad enough they'd taken a wrong turn somewhere past there and found that, wow, there sure were a lot more trees around this area than they remembered. It was _bad enough_ that Lloyd had been in such a rush that he hadn't asked for directions when he could have--that their current situation was entirely avoidable.

But now Zelos had to act like he had nothing to do with it when _he hadn't asked for directions either_.

“We're not lost!” Lloyd thus insisted, even though he knew better, because he was cranky and while Zelos's Zelosness had somehow changed from annoying to endearing during the course of their journey with everyone, enough that they were now traveling the world as a couple, there were still times when he wanted to tell his boyfriend to take his smug nonchalance and stuff it. Times like right now. “We're just a little turned around! All we have to do is get somewhere where we can see the sun and I can figure out where north is!”

Zelos looked up. The canopy above them was so thick, daylight barely peeked through. “Right. I'll just scoot my pretty butt up there and take a look-see.”

“You _should_! We're not getting anywhere just wandering around!” Lloyd growled.

“Whaaat? No way! I'll get my beautiful hair tangled in branches! _You_ do it!”

“But I always have to do that kind of stuff!” he complained. “Why don't you pull your own weight once in a while?”

“Hey, hey, I'm a city slicker, born and raised! You knew from the start that I'm totally useless at this kinda thing. This is your own fault, Lloyd!”

“ _My_ fault?! Argh, you little--why did I ever start dating a self-absorbed, self-centered loudmouth like you--”

“ _Loudmouth_? I'll have you know I'm exactly as loud as I need to be, which is a lot, because my voice is as beautiful as the rest of me, which is 'extremely'--”

A rustle of foliage broke through their argument and put both of them immediately in sync and on guard, Lloyd's hands on the hilts of his swords, Zelos's arm raised to start casting an arte. When a pair of figures passed through the greenery to join them on the pasth, though, they both relaxed.

“Colette! Sheena! Wow, what a coincidence!” Lloyd said, grinning. “It's been months! How've you both been?”

“Lloyd! Here you are!” Colette said sunnily. “We're doing great! I'm glad we were able to catch up with you--”

“Hmmmm?” Zelos interrupted, peering hard at the two of them--or more specifically, their clasped hands. “What's this I spy~? You two seem _awfully_ friendly!”

“I-it's none of your business, you idiot Chosen!” Sheena sputtered without trying to remove her hand. “And we've always been friendly! It's normal for girls to hold hands! Get lost!!”

“Sus _piiii_ ciooous,” Zelos lilted.

“No it's not!!”

“Hmm?” Lloyd blinked at them, then popped his fist into his palm. “Oh, I get it! Are you guys traveling as a date-couple, too?”

“Yup!” Colette chirped.

Sheena choked, face flaming red.

“Wow, that's awesome! I'm so happy for you two!” Lloyd continued, grinning broadly.

Colette beamed. “Hehe, thanks! I'm really happy for you and Zelos too!”

“Wait,” Sheena uttered, “does that mean you two--”

Lloyd groaned. “Ugghh, don't be! He's still a big pain in the butt.”

“Only now in more ways than one, eh?” Zelos cut in, grin lascivious as he leaned on Lloyd's shoulder. Lloyd glared at him, now blushing. “Know what I mean, Colette~?”

Sheena choked again. “You--you gross, pervy--”

Colette meanwhile blinked at him. Then she frowned. “Oh, I get it! Zelos, you messed up dinner and gave him constipation!”

Zelos's grin faltered while Sheena gawked and Lloyd coughed into one hand. “Uh, that's... not quite what I...”

“That's no good!” Colette continued. “You're going to have to work harder on your cooking skills, or you won't be able to take care of him!”

“I--uh--” Zelos coughed. “I'll, uh, I'll work harder on that.”

Colette smiled. “Hehe. Good to hear! You'll catch up to Sheena real soon like that!”

“O-oh, come on, it's no big deal,” Sheena protested as Lloyd blinked and Zelos started to smirk.

“Ohhh? How so, Colette?” Zelos asked.

“Sheena's been working really hard on her cooking skills since we started traveling together,” Colette replied. “She was already good, but she said--”

“AAAAHHH COLETTE THEY DON'T NEED TO HEAR THAT PART,” Sheena yelped, flailing. It lacked effect, given that she had to do it one-armed.

Colette blinked. “Why? It was really sweet.” She smiled again, like a heavenly body radiating light. “It made me really happy when you said you wanted to wanted to take such good care of me I forget about all the bad things I've been through.”

“C-Colette!! Not in front of--”

Zelos wolf-whistled. “Way to go, Sheena~!”

Lloyd grinned. “Sounds like I can leave Colette to you with no worries!”

“You guyyyyys!” Sheena complained, but without heat, because Colette was still smiling at her and it was nigh impossible to be mad or annoyed in its wake.

“But, you know, Sheena,” Colette added, “just so you know, you don't have to do anything special. Just being around you makes me forget all the bad things.”

Sheena smeared her hands down her face, making a high-pitched noise that translated roughly to _My girlfriend is so cute, I can't handle it, I'm gonna die_. Colette giggled, and when she moved to hug Sheena, chin lifting in romantic expectation, Sheena's embarrassment was no match for her desire to live up to those expectations. She pulled her close and let her lips press hers with tender slowness.

“Awww... Look at those two, all lovey-dovey,” Zelos sighed, leaning on Lloyd's shoulder. “Makes me feel like we're falling behind. Maybe we oughtta do something to catch up, hunny~?”

“I can't believe you want to make out, in the woods, when we have no idea which way we need to go,” Lloyd grumbled, cheeks reddening.

Zelos shrugged. “There's no such thing as a bad time to make out.”

Colette eased out of her kiss with Sheena to blink over at the guys. “Oh, are you two lost?”

“Yeah--with the worlds recombined, a lot of landmarks I used to know are gone, and other ones I thought I knew are somewhere totally different,” Lloyd admitted. “We can't even find the way back to Luin.”

“Didn't you just leave there? We just passed through ourselves,” Sheena said. “We happened to hear from the townspeople that they saw you, so we figured we'd try to catch up and say hi.”

Lloyd perked. “Oh, so that's what happened! Then can you guys point us back?”

“Sure, but if you just left Luin, that means you're heading somewhere else, right?” Sheena said. “Where're you going? Maybe we can help you get there.”

Lloyd perked. “Oh, that's a great idea!” Then he sobered. “We're heading to the old Asgard Ranch; we heard there's a cache of exspheres hidden there, and I wanted to take care of them before that rumor spread any further. Me and Zelos _could_ handle it, but this guy--” he elbowed him, “--won't even climb up a tree to get our bearings for us.”

“And I repeat, what if my lustrous hair got caught in a branch?! Do you really want to run your fingers through tangled, dirty locks?! You think that's romantic?!”

“I--w-well, no, but--”

“I rest my case!”

Colette giggled while Sheena heaved a sigh.

“You have my deepest sympathies,” Sheena said. “Anyway, Colette, what d'you think? If I remember right, it should still be due south of Luin now that we've passed the bridge, right?”

She nodded, pulling out a compass from one of her pockets. “Mhm! We were going to head to the Tower of Mana to check some things, but we can come with you.”

“Are you sure?” Lloyd said. “The Tower of Mana's in the whole other direction.” He paused, remembering the geological changes in the reunited world. “I think.”

“It'll be fine!” Colette reassured him. “It's been so long since we saw each other. It'll be like we're traveling together again, just for a little while!”

“Forget just traveling,” Zelos scoffed. He latched onto Lloyd's arm and winked. “It'll be a double date, my bud and me and your hunny and you!”

Colette giggled and clasped Sheena's. “Yeah! Gosh, I've never been on a double date before. This'll be fun!”

Lloyd and Sheena shared an exasperated glance that nonetheless didn't quite hide their pleased smiles.

 

* * *

 

Colette mouthed a voiceless prayer, her hands clasped and wings lighting the long-abandoned Ranch, as Lloyd set the last of the exspheres to rest. Sheena and Zelos stood to one side, on the watch for monsters, so neither was worried about being interrupted. Lloyd straightened and puffed out a sigh as he sheathed his twin swords.

“That's the last of them, then,” he said softly. “We'll have to get going for the next town soon. I'm glad--we got here in time, it looks like, and we didn't have any trouble with the monsters--but it's a little sad, knowing we'll have to split up already again.”

Without opening her eyes, Colette nodded. “I have Sheena, and you have Zelos, so I know we won't be lonely, but there was something nice about all of us all traveling together, wasn't there?”

“Yeah,” Lloyd said, wistful. “It's hard to pick which way I like it better.”

She lifted her chin then, wings blinking out. “You're happy with Zelos, right?”

Lloyd's cheeks turned pink. “Well.. yeah. We have our ups and downs, and we fight a lot, but there's something really nice about... having a boyfriend.” He grinned sheepishly. “He might be a pain sometimes, but being with him is a lot of fun, too.”

“Ehehe. I'm not surprised to hear that,” she said, smiling. “Zelos is really head over heels for you, you know.”

Lloyd laughed, somewhere between embarrassed and pleased. “Yeah, I know.” He paused, then added, “How's it going with you and Sheena? It looked pretty good, earlier.”

“It's _really_ good,” she said warmly. “It was nice traveling with everyone, but I really like cuddling her and watching the stars with her and sharing a sleeping bag with her... Sometimes, late at night, it feels like there's no one in the world but the two of us.”

Lloyd sighed wistfully. “I know what you mean. There's something incredible about that feeling, huh?”

“Yeah,” Colette murmured, clasping her hands over her chest.

The sound of Sheena yelling derailed their train of thought, and they both looked over to see her chewing out Zelos as he laughed. Colette and Lloyd shared a grin, Colette's bubbly, Lloyd's resigned, and they left their completed task behind to rejoin their lovers.

 

* * *

 

A moment earlier, as Colette and Lloyd had been finishing up with the exspheres, Sheena leaned on the wall and turned her attention from guard duty to her girlfriend.

“They really are incredible,” Sheena murmured sotto voce to Zelos. “They're just so _good_.”

He cracked, “You can't help but wonder what we did to deserve them, huh?”

Sheena ducked her head, smile rueful. “...Yeah.” She elbowed him. “Especially _you_ , you lech. You must've been a saint in a past life, 'cuz it sure wasn't anything you did this time around.”

“Hahaha, no kidding.”

Sheena paused. It really wasn't any fun if Zelos acknowledged how terrible he was. Then again, it wasn't any fun when he refused to acknowledge it, either... “You're right, though,” she decided to say instead. “After all the things all of us have been through, they're still so... so pure, I guess. So kind. It wouldn't be a surprise if they'd gotten twisted up inside at least some, but they just... _haven't_.”

“Yeah, that sounds about right.” He folded his arms behind his head. “Whether it's in two pieces or one, this world's kind of terrible, and that part of it isn't going to change overnight. But they never let that fact change _them_ , and that ended up changing _us_.”

“You're right again. It's a miracle,” Sheena joked. “I especially never thought _you_ of all people would.”

“Really~?” Zelos grinned devilishly as he wiggled fingers towards Sheena's shoulders, or thereabouts. “Then how's about I show you a few _other_ miracles--”

“Keep that up and I'll tell Lloyd on you.”

“--Kidding! Kidding!” he insisted, suddenly a foot away with his hands in the air. “Just a little joke, Sheena!”

She rolled her eyes, but managed to smile anyway. “Anyway, you take care of Lloyd, y'hear? I know he's already taking care of you.”

“Right back at you. My sweet angel Colette might be strong enough to lift mountains, but I bet she'd appreciate getting carried herself every now and then, hmm? Maybe in a princess hold~?”

Sheena blushed. “Y-you don't have to tell me that!”

Zelos laughed. “Just tell me if you need pointers~!”

“I don't need pointers from _you_!!”

“What're you two arguing about this time?” Lloyd called, jogging over to join the group, Colette at his heels.

“Oh, the same as usual,” Sheena grumped, folding her arms. Her gaze softened when it fell on Colette. “Is everything okay on your end?”

Lloyd nodded, more serious than usual. “Yeah. We ought to get going. You two still have to make it all the way to the Tower of Mana.”

“It'll be fine. We've got each other,” Colette said warmly, hopping over to Sheena and clasping her hands between her own. Sheena smiled back, and the two touched foreheads.

“That's so nice. Why can't we have that?” Zelos complained to Lloyd.

“We _do_ have that! You just keep ruining it!”

“ _I_ keep ruining it?! What about you, Mr. You Don't Need Showers When You're Roughing It?! You think day-old sweat is sexy?!”

“I-I never said you don't _need_ showers, just that you're not going to find one easily out in the wild!”

“And yet somehow _I_ always find some way to remain perfectly fabulous every day for my ungrateful boyfriend--”

“You have magic, that's cheating!!”

Colette smiled brightly and Sheena grimaced as Zelos affected heart-stopping shock, then pretended to collapse to the floor in fake despair and stubbornly remained draped there even when Lloyd attempted to drag him back upright.

“They're so cute together, aren't they?” Colette whispered to her girlfriend.

“Better him than me, anyway,” Sheena whispered back, not quite holding back a wry smile.

 

* * *

 

When the two pairs left what was one the Asgard Ranch, the sky blazed with twilit palette. Colette waved vigorously to Lloyd and Zelos, and the guys reciprocated, before she took Sheena by the hand and the two of them headed north. Soon, they'd vanished through the woods.

Zelos stretched, hands hooked high over his head, and casually leaned on Lloyd and draped his arm over his shoulders. Lloyd snorted, which was a poor defense against his growing grin, and he wrapped an arm around Zelos's waist and pulled him closer for a kiss. Zelos was more than happy to follow Lloyd's lead.

While it would've been nice to spend the next hour cuddling, though, they still had a journey to get back to and they both knew it. They pulled apart enough to walk and set off for the south, hand in hand. After a few minutes of comfortable silence, Zelos began to hum cheerfully, and Lloyd grinned at his high spirits, letting their hands swing back and forth.

“I told you we had what they had,” he said.

“Yes, yes, you were right and I was wrong. Happy now?” Zelos grumbled, good-natured.

“Hahaha! You know it!”

He scoffed, grinning. “Well, as long as my manly little hunny's pleased~. Whew! That sure was an adventure and a half, though. I'm just glad you got directions from Colette for the next town. I am _so_ up for a shower and a hot meal!”

Lloyd paused mid-step. “Wait. I thought _you_ got directions. Wasn't that what you were talking with Sheena with for so long without her hitting you for?”

Zelos stared at Lloyd.

Lloyd stared right back.

 

* * *

 

“Uuunnngghhhh,” Lloyd groaned as he trudged past the Palmacosta city limits. Above him, the pre-dawn stars sparkled their last for the night. “We're _finally_ here. I still blame you, Zelos.”

Zelos, sporting dark rings under his eyes, grumbled, “And they're still rebuilding, so we can kiss any hot meals, hot beds, or hot hunnies goodnight--ow!!”

Lloyd lowered his kicking foot. “Cut that out!! We're lucky we could find a town at all! If you're so cranky about it, why didn't you fly us somewhere else?!”

“Wh-why didn't _you_ fly us somewhere else? You've got wings too!”

Lloyd stared at Zelos.

Zelos stared right back.

 


End file.
